Belgian euthanasia law allows first death of a prisoner

September 13, 2012 in Other

A gravelly ill prisoner serving a long jail sentence has become the first inmate to die under Belgian euthanasia laws introduced 10 years ago, press reports said Thursday.

The man, who was not identified, died earlier this year after seeking permission several times when doctors decided his suffering could not be helped, the reports said.

They gave no details of his illness or the circumstances of his case.

Another prisoner, locked up for 27 years for committing two , has also asked for permission to die and should satisfy the legal conditions, Flemish VTM said.

After the Netherlands, Belgium was the second country in the world to legalise euthanasia in 2002.

Last year, some 1,133 cases—mostly for terminal cancer—were recorded, about one percent of all deaths in the country, according to official figures.

The issue is very controversial and most countries forbid mercy killing but some allow "passive" euthanasia when a doctor is not required to fight to save a life and there are others where patients can refuse .

(c) 2012 AFP

not rated yet  

Rank not rated yet
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Early use of tracheostomy for mechanically ventilated patients not associated with improved survival

For critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation, early tracheostomy (within the first 4 days after admission) was not associated with an improvement in the risk of death within 30 days compared to patients who ...

Other created 3 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Decisions to forgo life support may depend heavily on the ICU where patients are treated

The decision to limit life support in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) appears to be significantly influenced by physician practices and/or the culture of the hospital, suggests new findings from researchers at the ...

Other created 5 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

People on higher incomes are happier with new knees

Knee replacement surgery is a very common procedure. However, it does not always resolve function or pain in all the recipients of new knees. A study by Robert Barrack, MD and his colleagues from the Washington University ...

Other created 7 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New search engine finds rare diagnoses

Doctors are trained to think "common disease" when they meet patients in their practices, and as they rarely or never meet a rare disease, it often takes many years to reach the right diagnosis. A new search tool called FindZebra ...

Other created 7 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Delayed transfer to the ICU increases risk of death in hospital patients

Delayed transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU) in hospitalized patients significantly increases the risk of dying in the hospital, according to a new study from researchers in Chicago.

Other created 9 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Small cancer risk following CT scans in childhood and adolescence confirmed

The gap between life expectancy in patients with a mental illness and the general population has widened since 1985 and efforts to reduce this gap should focus on improving physical health, suggest researchers in a paper ...

Life expectancy gap widens between those with mental illness and general population

The gap between life expectancy in patients with a mental illness and the general population has widened since 1985 and efforts to reduce this gap should focus on improving physical health, suggest researchers in a paper ...

Dietary advice on added sugar is damaging our health, warns heart expert

Dietary advice on added sugar is damaging our health, warns a cardiologist in BMJ today. Dr. Aseem Malhotra believes that "not only has this advice been manipulated by the food industry for profit but it is actually a risk ...

Failure to use linked health records may lead to biased disease estimates

Failure to use linked electronic health records may lead to biased estimates of heart attack incidence and outcome, warn researchers in a paper published in BMJ today.

Iodine deficiency during pregnancy may adversely affect children's mental development

A study of around 1,000 UK mothers and their children, published in The Lancet, has revealed that iodine deficiency in pregnancy may have an adverse effect on children's mental development. The research raises concerns that t ...

New sleeping pill poised to hit US markets

An experimental sleeping pill from US drug company Merck is effective at helping people fall and stay asleep, according to reviewers at the US Food and Drug Administration, which could soon approve the new drug.